As World War II ended, the attitudes that Americans held towards Nazi Germany were quickly transferred to "Stalinist" Russia. Although fascism and communism are quite different, the two countries were equated in the opinion of much of the public and even scholars, since both exhibited aspects of totalitarianism. These opinions were supported by the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, their mutual invasion of Poland, and by the Soviet Union's westward expansion after the war. Such feelings were best summed up in Winston Churchill's infamous "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946. The Communist takeover in China and the Korean War added to fears of a worldwide Communist revolution. And the book 1984 by George Orwell had a significant influence upon the public's views of totalitarianism. The failure of appeasement and isolationism as policies gave way to an active interest in foreign events and a determination to end the next world war before it started.
When it was announced in 1949 that the Soviet Union had tested an atomic bomb, new fears of spies operating in the U.S. became prevalent. Indeed, it was discovered that Klaus Fuchs, a physicist who had worked on the development of the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, had supplied the scientific information to the Soviet Union.
Since appeasement had failed to prevent World War II and isolationism had failed to keep the United States from entering the war, greater interest was taken in foreign affairs and the prevention of an even more devastating war.
Thus, the foundation was laid for the "Red Scare," a time of persercution and propaganda in the United States.
From 1950 to 1954, when he lost his immense support after being charged with misconduct by the Army and the Senate, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconscin, accused the Department of State, the Truman Administration, the Eisenhower Administration, and the Army of harboring Communists. He argued that Communists had infiltrated the government and were influencing policy.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was a special committee that investigated subversive organizations in the United States. Its primary goal was to search for Communist influences, from the motion picture industry to the Department of State. As a result of its investigations, many Americans were required to take loyalty oaths for employment. And those who were accused of having Communist ties, past or present, were often black-listed from employment. Factory workers and college professors suffered alike, even when innocent.
Propaganda is designed to manipulate the emotions and instincts of the general public. Relying on such low level emotions as hate and fear, it uses incomplete or incorrect information while avoiding logical arguments. It repeats ideas and catchphrases, often uses scapegoats, and relates itself with the high ideals. It tries to curtail individual thought, denounces or suppresses contradictory facts, and acts as a distraction. Mass communication is necessary for the success of propaganda. Furthermore, the technology utilized in communication is very important. This basic model of propaganda had already proven itself successful in Nazi Germany and during the cold war it was used, albeit to a lesser extent, in the United States. Television, film, radio, and other forms of media were put to use.
President Harry S. Truman was another key figure in the "Red Scare." Truman is characterized as an alarmist who simplified issues and exagerrated threats in order to maintain public and political approval for his policies. To gain public support, the Truman administration cajoled "opinion leaders:" journalists, businessmen, labor leaders, intellectuals, etc.
To date, there has been no Communist revolution in the United States of America.
The above image was taken from LIFE magazine, the issue of November 29, 1968.
Click on the picture to see the full scanned image.
